Can Bilberry Extract Protect Vision From the Damaging Effects of Uveitis?

Last week, researchers in Japan reported that bilberry extract had demonstrated a protective effect on visual function during retinal inflammation due to uveitis.

The researchers induced uveitis in mice that included retinal inflammation. They pretreated the mice with anthocyanin-rich bilberry extract and analyzed the treatment’s effects on the retina. The bilberry extract inhibited the impairment of photoreceptor cell function, as well as some typical consequences of uveitis, including the shortening of outer segments in photoreceptor cells and decreased rhodopsin (a purple retinal pigment that helps form photoreceptor cells).